Mystery Man
by Brine224
Summary: Lois is keeping a secret and Clark's determined to figure it out. Post Fragile clois
1. Chapter 1

**Mystery Man**

Disclaimer: Not mine obviously.

Spoilers: Basically a post Fragile story….the episode got me thinking.

Pairing: Clark/Lois

Summary: Lois is keeping a secret and Clark's determined to find out what it is

AN: Sorry if I got any names wrong, couldn't remember things perfectly. And I'm still working on 'Hurt' this is just a quick little piece that I thought up.

**Part 1**

Something was up.

Or more aptly, Lois was up to something.

The first few times it happened Clark hadn't thought anything of it. But two months later he was beginning to worry over the pattern forming. Chloe was really who had tipped him off; she had mentioned that for the second straight week Lois had declined her invite to hang out in Metropolis. Although Lois' new position as his mother's Chief-of-Staff had her working long hours, he could hardly see her turning down time with her cousin much less a night in Metropolis.

What sealed his suspicions that a mystery was afoot was the evening his mother had invited Lois to stay for Saturday dinner to go over some personnel reports and recent press releases. Not only had she declined to work but more importantly she had turned down one of his mother's meals. At that point he had gotten a sneaking suspicion that Lois was dating someone in secret, kept from prying eyes of a small town and her rather inquisitive cousin for nothing else made sense. The jealous ache he carried for the few days following his conclusion had him flustered and confused. Coupled with the nightmares of finding her in his driveway with her throat slit by a glass shard didn't help his tenuous grip on sanity. For he was sure he had lost his mind; it was the only plausible reason he was jealous of the mysterious man Lois was dating.

But that all changed the evening he attended a party of his most recent rescue; who also happened to be Lois' date. The jealousy blossomed within him, seeing her finding interest in another man; yet they had only just met so he couldn't have been the man she was seeing. Suffice it to say, weirdness prevailed and Lois' latest suitor was history in no time which left him with a growing attraction to the 'bane of his existence' and a mystery still to solve.

For three Saturdays out of every month Lois was nowhere to be found. Whether it was Chloe's influence or his rapidly growing Lois interest he wasn't sure, but on the Saturday Clark decided he would follow her and get to the bottom of her secrecy.

By nine on Saturday morning Clark was watching Lois toss her purse onto the passenger seat of her car, dawn her sunglasses and take off for parts unknown. He kept a safe distance from her traveling vehicle, tracking her by the rather loud Ben Harper CD she was playing. He wasn't sure what he expected but trailing her car further into the rural countryside and away from any major city was not in the 'realm of possibilities'. Landmarks began to appear familiar to him; however, when Lois finally turned into a driveway off the main road Clark was left more confused than when he had set out that day.

He had been to that house before. It belonged to Maddie's grandmother.

Staying hidden, he saw her park the car and open the car door. At the same time the front door of the old house flew open to release a ball of blonde energy.

"Lois!" Maddie shouted, racing to the spot the woman in question stood by the car.

"Hey Kiddo!" Lois returned with equal fervor and a wide grin. She pushed her sunglasses up off her face to sit on her head. Her hands dropped down just in time to catch the girl charging in for a hug. "Miss me much?" She teased.

The two girls laughed at whatever Maddie had responded with until the front door opened again to reveal Maddie's smiling grandmother.

"Hi Mrs. Michaels." Lois nodded to the elderly lady.

"Good morning Lois." She smiled at the joy shining on her granddaughter's face. "So what do you two young ladies have planned for today?"

Maddie looked up expectantly at Lois. "I figured the two of us could check out the Museum of Art in Metropolis then head back to Smallville to hang out." She shrugged. "What do you think?" She asked Maddie who replied with a simple 'awesome'.

Her grandmother urged her to run into the house and grab a jacket to ward off the cool morning air, leaving her and Lois alone on the driveway.

"Lois, I don't know how I can ever thank you for taking an interest in Maddie. Changing schools in the middle of the year and coming to live here hasn't been easy on her."

Lois grinned. "No problem Mrs. Michaels. Maddie's a cool kid. It's been refreshing to hang out with someone who doesn't have an agenda after dealing with politicians all week long."

"She's always at her most talkative after her days with you." Mrs. Michaels confided, still battling the little girl's days of complete silence.

"Yeah, we're working on that." Lois laughed. "I think she's figure out that the only way to get me to stop talking is by speaking up herself." The girl in question reappeared and rushed over to join her grandmother and Lois. "Alright Kiddo, let's get this show on the road!" She clapped her hands together. "We've got a couple thousand years of art to look at."

Clark almost blew his cover, so shocked at the interplay between Lois and his young friend. He vaguely heard her tell Maddie to buckle up, the music changing to Hillary Duff and his superior hearing getting a shock at the volume. In the last possible moment he blurred from sight as the two girls traveled down the driveway.

At home, he grappled with the shame at having used his abilities to follow a friend, only to determine she was spending her time with a girl he had come to care for. He had spoken to Maddie a few times since she had moved to her grandmother's but never had the girl mentioned Lois' presences in her life and Lois had gone out of her way in some cases to avoid being discovered.

Martha Kent walked into the kitchen in search of another mug of tea and found her son hunched over the island, boring holes into a sandwich. A chuckle escaped before she could sensor it how obvious Clark was to read; that position had long indicated he was trying to work something out in his mind and he was waiting for someone to bounce ideas off of.

"Something the matter Honey?" She turned on the kettle.

A sigh sounded behind her, she knew that Clark was raising his head to address her. "No not really." His hands shifted over the bread on his plate. "It's just Lois…." He trailed off, not sure how to form his thought for his mother's ears.

Martha covered a grin by spinning toward the counter to toss teabags into the pot. Since the official demise of Clark's relationship with Lana she had seen a shift in his interactions with Lois. His eyes followed her movements more closely than ever before, his easy smile almost a fixture at her mere presence and his frequent errands that would take him wherever Lois Lane happened to be was all the evidence she needed to know that her son was falling hard.

"What about Lois?" She kept her tone light and conversational.

"Haven't you noticed that three Saturday's out of ever month she's unreachable?" Clark asked, his brow furrowing.

"Not particularly. She's been here almost every Sunday since becoming my Chief-of-staff, going over recent depositions and she works late most nights with me." Martha shrugged.

"What about last week? You needed her to come over to work and she said she had other plans. And Chloe said that she hasn't seen her for over a month." He pointed out.

"Clark, Lois' life is her own. She has my office running like clock work so I don't begrudge her any time she wants to take for herself. She puts in longer hours than anyone else on staff; to be honest I'm glad to know that she's taking some time for herself."

"So she hasn't mentioned why she's incommunicado on Saturdays?" He pushed.

Martha cast a suspicious eye at her son; he was fishing for information but not with the same urgency of someone who had none themselves. Whatever Lois was doing, Clark knew and was interested to know if she did. For a fleeting moment she wondered if it were anything illegal that would shed a negative light on her political position but she quickly reminded herself of whom she was thinking of and that the girl who ran her office like a drill sergeant was hardly criminally minded.

"No. I assumed she was catching up on errands and spending time with her friends. And if I needed to know she would tell me."

Clark's shoulders slumped at his mother's response. His troubled gaze returned to the untouched sandwich on the counter as though it could provide him with the answers he was seeking.

By four o'clock Clark had decided to take a run to the lake, finding the farm too stifling for his turbulent thoughts. It didn't make any sense. Why had Lois not told anyone about her weekend activity? She was giving her time to a young girl who had loss everyone close to her and was trying to settle into a new life with a woman she had never met; what was so awful about her actions that she had cause to omit the information. And he wondered not for the first time why it bothered him so much.

He was jealous. Of Lois, who had managed to build a friendship with the child and Maddie, who was afforded so much time with Lois. He wanted to know what it was about Maddie that elicited such devotion of time and spirit from a woman who kept herself quartered off from anyone she met.

Just as he reached the lake's clearing he heard laughter; one lilt he recognized instantly while the other sounded familiar but its owner elusive. He moved to get a better vantage point in order to see through the trees toward the dock jetting into the water. Focusing his hearing, he managed to pick up the conversation between the two people seated on the wooden planks.

"I'm telling you, he cut off his ear!" Lois announced between chuckles.

"Who would cut off their own ear?" Maddie tipped her head back in utter disbelief at what Lois was telling her. "His pictures are so calm, not scary like some of the others." She commented.

"Well I don't know why he did it!" Lois gestured wildly with her hands. "Maybe it was an accident." She thought for a moment, taking a bite of whatever she was eating. "At least you learned something today."

"What?" Maddie mirrored her actions, chewing on what appeared to be a piece of bread.

"Never give yourself a hair cut; you might lose an ear." Lois smirked, sending Maddie into a fit of laughter.

It looked as though they were eating take-out, allowing Clark to sigh in relief that Lois hadn't subjected the poor girl to her cooking. She had been traumatized enough already. For a few minutes the only sounds he could hear was the chewing of the two girls and birds chirping on the other side of the lake. When they were finished their meal Lois wrapped up the garbage and placed it on the side of the dock.

"So what do ya want to do now next?" Lois leaned back on her palms and stretched her legs out in front of her.

Maddie shrugged, suddenly appearing self-conscious, a far cry from the laughing little girl of earlier. From his position within the foliage Clark could just make out Lois biting her bottom lip, obviously mulling something over.

"I have an idea." She jumped up from the dock, startling Maddie slightly.

Lois went about readjusting the blanket she had brought with them on the dock and lined up the empty bottles they had used during their lunch on top of it. Hoisting Maddie up, she led her to the other end of the platform, a safe distance from the bottles.

"How 'bout we practice this glass breaking thing of yours." She shook her bangs from her eyes.

Maddie immediately backed up further, her head dropping as she withdrew into herself. Seeing her reaction, Lois dropped to her knees beside the young girl and took hold of her shaking hands.

"You don't have anything to be scared of Maddie, it's just you and me out here." She assured her, unknowingly sending ripples of guilt through Clark.

"But what if you get hurt?" Large eyes turned glassy and the shaking increased until Lois pulled her into a hug.

"I'm not going to get hurt." She stated simply. "You know how I know that?" Maddie shook her head against Lois' shoulder. "Because I trust you Maddie."

Without moving from the embrace Maddie looked up at Lois. "But it's bad. I shouldn't do it."

"What you can do isn't bad Maddie but unfortunately some people use their gifts to do bad things. But you can do really great things too; you told me that once you put glass back together that had broken; that's a good thing." Lois smiled. "I know it seems scary now cause you don't have complete control over it but maybe if we practice a little bit controlling it will be easier." Lois sat down on the dock, pulling Maddie down beside her. "I think what you can do is really cool Maddie. Don't be afraid of being different; it's what makes you Maddie and I happened to like her very much." Lois smirked, wrapping her arm around the girl when she leaned in for another hug.

"You really aren't scared of it?" Maddie watched her for any signs of fear, not wanting to do anything to lose her friend.

"Nope. When I was living in India I once saw a man stick ten mental rods into his body and then get up and walk away; this is nothing." She shrugged.

Clark watched the two as Lois coached Maddie to break one of the bottles only and then attempt to bring the pieces back together. She was having difficulty with the latter activity and the frustration was beginning to show on her young face. Just as the second bottle began to shake with Maddie's anger, Lois made a comment about her allergies being worst than usual and that she had suspicions Clark had Shelby roll around on her bed just to torment her. Maddie's shoulders relaxed and the bottle built itself back up.

Lois was quick to praise the little girl, high-fiving her and rising from the dock. She announced that Maddie had practice enough for the day and if she was going to be seeing Shelby soon she should be ready for a game of fetch. The two girls were already on their feet and off the dock with Lois showing her young charge the finer art of throwing a Frisbee from different grips when Clark's feet finally got the message to move.

He spend out of the lake area, not wanting to encroach on the girls' time and definitely not wanting to be caught spying by Lois. Back at the farm he sat in his loft with Shelby at his feet, thinking over what he had discovered.

Lois was taking time out of her busy schedule to play big sister and mentor to a stranger. He recalled her guilty admission after finding out Maddie hadn't been responsible for the death of her foster mom but he doubted that alone would be enough for her to spend almost every Saturday with the young girl. Furthermore, Lois had single-handedly taken on the role of teaching Maddie to hone her abilities so that she wouldn't have to fear them any longer and had even called them 'gifts'.

Clark had spent so long wondering what Lana's reaction to his secrete would be that he lost sight of the other people around him who still weren't aware of his other worldly status. After seeing Lois with Maddie that afternoon he began to contemplate how she would view him. When Maddie had first displayed her abilities Lois had been spooked but then at that point she saw Maddie as a threat to their safety. Now it would seem that she not only accepted her but was doing everything in her power to make Maddie accept herself.

Lois was a puzzle. He would find the place of a few more pieces and while the theme was beginning to appear, the whole picture was still elusive. And he liked it. He had lived his life for so many years predictably; Lana was safe, a girl he had known forever. But life wasn't meant to be safe.

"What do you think Shelby?" The dog tilted his head when he realized he was being spoken to. "Lois is pretty awesome isn't she?" Clark's lips rose on one side when his question was met with a quick bark. "Yeah, I think so too."

With an image of Lois firmly implanted in his mind, Clark went about plotting what he was going to do with his information regarding her Saturday activities. And if he played his cards right, he and Lois would be getting to know each other in a new light before the week was up. She wouldn't know what hit her.

1/6

Please R&R if you get the chance.


	2. Chapter 2

See first post for Disclaimer

**Part 2**

"No, the Senator's going to be in Washington on Thursday; the meeting with the union officials will have to wait until next Tuesday." Lois held the phone between her ear and shoulder, making notations in a file on her desk. "Well look at it this way then, you'll have five extra days to organize yourself so you're not wasting anyone's time." She rolled her eyes at whatever was being said on the other end of the conversation. "I'd believe you if I had an outline of your presentation in front of me but your office has been dragging their feet on that one. Listen Tom, you get me that outline by end of business Friday and I'll see what I can do about getting you an extra hour with the Senator."

Clark stood in the doorway to Lois' office. The room was Spartan save for the abundance of papers and file folders piled high on her desk. He waited at the threshold for Lois to acknowledge his presence. When she dropped her pen and took hold of the phone she noticed, waving him into the room.

"Are you really trying to use that line with me Tom? This has nothing to do with what the Senator deems important but everything to do with your office's lack of efficiency. This conversation is a courtesy from me to you; we're not going to wait around indefinitely for you to tell us when you're ready to meet." Clark raised his eyebrows at Lois' hard-line approach. "Good. Our office will be in touch next Monday for confirmation." She nodded as though the man on the other end could see her. "You too and get out on that course, the weather's supposed to be great this week." She smiled before hanging up.

"No wonder my mother wanted you as chief-of-staff, you spend all day yelling and annoying people. You were born for the job." Clark smirked when Lois' hands went to her hips indignantly.

"Shows what you know about politics." She shook her head. "I'll badger and annoy until I get what I want, which happens to be what your mother wants, but I always end the conversation on a good note; makes them easier to deal with next time around."

"Right." He looked unconvinced, leaning against the inside of the doorframe. "So what exactly does a Chief-of-Staff do?" He tilted his head as a sign of interest.

"Think of me as a filter to your Mom. Pretty much everything goes through me, I schedule meetings, press conferences, organize the research for Senatorial gatherings in Washington and elsewhere. I basically have to make sure your mother has all the information she needs to make informed decisions." She ran a tired hand through her blonde streaked hair. "So did you just come to bother me Smallville, or did you have another agenda in mind?" She sunk into her chair and turned to her computer.

"Actually" Clark stood up straight "I was wondering if you have plans for lunch?"

"If working through it counts as plans than yes. Why?" Her eyes were on the computer screen as she checked her email for the twentieth time that day, thus missing Clark's nervous shuffling.

"I was hoping you could spare an hour so I could take you out." He explained.

"Uh….sure I guess I can spare an hour." Lois' confused gaze landed on Clark, watching his nervous movements continue. "You didn't come all the way to Topeka to take me to lunch." She stated.

"What if I did?" Came the challenged response.

"I'd likely question your sanity."

"But you'd still let me take you out." Clark reasoned.

"Well a girl's gotta eat." Lois tossed him a sly smile. "I need about fifteen minutes to fire off a few emails before we can go."

"No problem." Clark told her, taking a seat across her desk.

Lois raised her eyebrows. "Aren't you going to say hi to your Mom or something Smallville?"

"Nope, I came here to see you."

"O…kay." She drew out. Lois refocused long enough to respond to a few emails that were urgent and mark those that would have to be dealt with immediately upon their return from lunch. She was done much sooner than expected but took the opportunity to surreptitiously watch Clark lounging in the chair. His attention was drawn to different objects within the room, such as pictures of Lois with various heads-of-state or foreign dignitaries from countries around the world.

"I'm done." She announced and shut off her screen.

"I've never seen these." He rose from the chair and motioned to the pictures on the credenza on the far wall.

"They don't really go with the décor in my apartment." She drawled sardonically. "However, then lend me a little more credibility when dealing with office staff and outsiders. After all, I don't exactly have a degree to back up my authority." She shrugged.

"I didn't know that was a pre-requisite." Clark helped her on with her spring coat, receiving a glare as reward.

"It's not and let's face it, four years in a lecture hall doesn't come anywhere near eight-teen years of international travel with a high ranking military officer. I was part of more politics on one afternoon than most of these people could be in a lifetime." She walked out of the office with him, lowering her voice substantially. "But it would likely incite the natives if I were to mention my views on the topic." She nodded to the people milling about the outer office, some of whom stopped to look at their Chief-of-Staff leaving with the Senator's handsome young son.

At a deli a few blocks from the government building, Lois was listening to Clark answer her questions regarding the farm upkeep. The two had walked over; taking advantage of a warm streak they were getting in early spring.

"I still don't understand how you think you'll be able to run the farm single-handedly during the spring and summer. Isn't the spring like the busiest time in the land of agriculture?" She bit into her sandwich, signally to Clark that it was his turn to answer.

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat Clark cursed Lois for always cutting right to the heart of the matter, her lack of tact sometimes brought him too close to revealing more to her than he should.

"I guess it's so routine after all the years helping my Dad that I don't even realize it any more. The hours are going to be longer during the planting season but its short lived so I'll survive." He joked.

Lois took a drink of her water and scrutinized him. "So how long did it take your mom to convince you to drive down here and take me out?"

"What makes you think my Mom had anything to do with it?"

"She's been telling me I'm working too hard and I need to stop and take a break every once in a while. Which is just the stupidest thing I've heard cause she works twice as hard as I do." Lois' hands clattered atop the table causing Clark to wince.

"I think you're about evenly matched on the working scale. But as for lunch today, my Mom has no idea I'm here." Clark's lips curled on one side, pleased to see Lois suddenly at a loss for words.

"So what was this all about then?" She hedge carefully.

"I just felt like taking you out for lunch. I haven't seen much of you since you started working with my Mom and any time I do see you, you're knee deep in files." Clark took a casual bite of his sandwich, chewing thoughtfully. "I called you last Saturday to see if you wanted to come over and watch a movie but you weren't home." He treaded carefully, not wanting to tip her off.

Lois' eyes narrowed as she stopped in mid bite. "You didn't leave a message; and since when do you call me up to see if I want to watch a movie?" She dropped her lunch, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What? Can't a guy call a girl up to watch a movie with him?" Clark smiled innocently.

"Sure a guy can call a girl but you don't call me. When did you start seeking out my company?" Lois was at a loss. The conversation had taken a turn she had not been anticipating and now she was floundering while trying to maintain her cool.

"When I realized I like it." Clark answered easily.

"Are you drunk?" Lois' eyes widened at him. "No of course not, Clarkie boy doesn't drink. Possessed? Not the first time for Smallville." She wondered aloud.

"None of the above." Clark shook his head, a smile lighting his lips. "I know it sounds like the craziest thing you've ever heard but I happen to like spending time with you Lois."

"Something's going on and I'm going to figure out what it is?" She warned. "Did Chloe send you to butter me up? She doesn't actually think I'm going to help her out with a story after what happened last time. I've already had to deal with one overzealous politician who remembered my fleeting career at the Wingate." She huffed.

Clark saw red. "What did he say to you?" He ground out, holding onto his anger by his fingertips.

Lois waved her hand in front of her dismissively. "Don't worry about it; it was nothing I couldn't handle. I made it very clear to him that my presence there could likely be explained away better than his could so I doubt he'll be mentioning it again." She shrugged.

"Good." The fight began to ebb out of him. "Come on" he glanced at his watch "I better get you back to work before your boss finds out it was me who stole you away." He teased.

Work had allowed Lois to forget the strange lunch she shared with Clark that afternoon but the long drive home gave her nothing but time to mull over the encounter. She was thankful that she and Mrs. Kent hadn't driven in together as she wouldn't have been able to hide her distracted thoughts from the intuitive woman. Clark had driven all the way to Topeka just to take her to lunch; he had looked nervous when he first appeared in her doorway but that didn't make much sense, it was just lunch.

Her grip tightened on the steering wheel and she gulped recognizing for the first time that perhaps the lunch was not meant as a friendly gesture but as something more. Had Clark Kent asked her out on a date? Had she accepted? For the first time in over two month Lois felt a headache brewing that had nothing to do with politics.

The following morning brought with it a renewed sense of calm for Lois. She rationalized that Clark had simply been trying to be a friend and hadn't meant anything else by their impromptu lunch. As per usual she spent the first half of her drive to work listening to the news and the second part mentally preparing for the day with Dave Matthews.

"Good morning Lois." The administrative assistant in the front of the government building greeted her.

"Morning Lauren." She nodded.

"Wallace called and said that he wasn't going to be able to make the staff meeting this morning."

"That's the fifth time in less than two weeks. Have him come to my office when he does get it." She informed the woman.

Walking through the area of cubicles Lois dispensed of a few more greetings and made note of who had yet to come in. The door to Mrs. Kent's office was closed which meant she hadn't arrived yet, giving Lois a little more time to organize herself for the day. She picked up her mail from the mail box and retreated to her own office.

The morning meeting was quick and to the point as was Lois' specialty but the day had already been marred by her conversation with Wallace, a senior researcher, who lacked the punctuality she expected from the staff. She had given Wallace his one and only warning before she took the matter to the Senator.

Lunch came and went with Lois disappointed when Clark didn't appear in her doorway. She wasn't sure what had come over her but it was unnerving; Lois Lane didn't miss anyone and certainly not the company of a dark haired farmboy. A knock on her open door jarred her from her dangerous thoughts of Clark.

"Hey Lois, Lauren asked me to bring these back; they were just delivered to you out front." One of the PR people held up a glass vase with a large bouquet of white roses and one giant lily the colour of the sun rise for her to see. "Got an admirer eh?" He teased.

"Not that I know of." Lois stood, walking around her desk to take the flowers. The closer she drew to the bouquet the more fragrant she realized they were. She couldn't remember the last time she had smelled a flower so fresh.

"Well whoever he is, he didn't spare expense….or she?" he added just in case "this is no cheap arrangement."

"Don't you have work to do Steve?" Lois leveled him with a glare sending him on his way.

Turning on her heel she walked back over to her desk to place the vase on the surface. Sticking out of the side was a white envelope, her name scrawled on the front. Her heart beat a little faster marveling at who would send her the arrangement. The card was plain white with a message written in a familiar choppy script:

_Hope these brighten your day._

_Dinner Tonight?_

_Love,_

_Smallville_

Lois was thankful her chair was directly behind her because her knees buckled as she read the card. What was Clark up to? The headache of the night before was back with a vengeance, causing her to close her eyes tight against the sudden pressure at her temples. Thinking back on her recent interactions with Clark, Lois tried to pinpoint anything that indicated his feelings toward her had changed but nothing jumped out at her.

"Lois, I wanted to go over my Washington itinerary before I-" Mrs. Kent stopped short in speech and movement when she caught sight of the flowers on her staff chief's desk and the air of complete shock surrounding the young woman. "These are beautiful." She breathed with a gentle smile as a hand came out to finger a petal. "Who's the lucky guy?"

Eyes still locked in stunned confusion on the flowers, she handed Mrs. Kent the card that had accompanied them. As she scanned the card, Martha felt a flash of surprise herself but it soon melted into pleasant excitement. The surprise was not in light of her son's intent where Lois was concerned but rather his bold action; it demonstrated a level of maturity she had long sensed in him.

"So where is my son planning on taking you?" Martha passed the card back to Lois.

"What? I um…" Lois gave herself a mental shake, trying to wrap her mind around the question. "We're not – I mean he's not" suddenly she realized Mrs. Kent was silently laughing at her. "Why is it that I'm the only one about to fall over from shock?" She queried.

"Oh Lois, I've been watching Clark fall all over himself to get your attention for the past two months. I didn't think he even realized what he was doing but obviously I underestimated him." She bent to inhale the flowers, noting that they were far too fresh to have come from a local flower shop. No, the flowers adorning Lois' desk had to have been a Clark Kent special.

"You don't care? I mean it doesn't bother you that your son wants to….um wants to…" she couldn't bring herself to say the word.

"date you?" Martha finished for her. "Not at all. What you do in your time is your business, provided it won't land you in jail." She joked half-heartedly. "You have to do whatever's going to make you happy and if that's being with Clark than I'm happy too. You spend far too many hours cooped up here at the office; I know you want to do your job well but I don't want to see you burn out." Martha explained.

"I guess I never let myself think about it too much. Clark was basically synonymous with Lana since I met him; it didn't do much to cultivate the idea that he would be happy in a relationship with anyone else." Lois stopped herself. "What am I saying? A relationship with Smallville? No offense Mrs. Kent but he's…" Kind, sweet, smart, laid back, dedicated, loyal, honest, sexy…..

Martha chuckled at Lois' distant look. "How about we get through this itinerary then you can call my son about that dinner." She sat in one of the guest chairs, waving Lois over to take the one next to her so they could read the information more comfortably. "But before we start I have to know" she quirked an eyebrow "are you going to accept the invitation to dinner?"

_2/6_


	3. Chapter 3

See first post for Disclaimer

**Part 3**

By seven the building was emptying, the hum of ring phones and talking people had all but vanished while Lois was still hunkered down in her darkening office. She wasn't looking forward to Mrs. Kent spending time in Washington, leaving her to run the office and field questions and comments for the Senator.

"Are you always the last one to leave at night?" Clark asked from his position at Lois' office door.

Gone was the farmboy, in his place was a man in gray dress pants, a black dress shirt and gray sport jacket. Lois would have wondered where Clark had disappeared to had he not begun to fidget in his clothes.

"I get more done when my phone's not ringing off the hook and I don't have fifty people asking my opinion." She sighed deeply. "You're all dressed up, planning on going somewhere?" She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I happen to be taking a beautiful woman out for dinner tonight. That is if she can pull herself away from her work long enough." He tossed her an easy smile, one Lois hadn't seen in over a year.

"I think I've hit the wall; I've read the same page about ten times and it still isn't making much sense."

"Then it looks like my timing's perfect." Clark dipped his head, feeling unnerved by her scrutiny.

"So what's the plan Smallville?" Lois stood, pulling on her suit jacket from the back of her chair.

"There's a place down the street that's supposed to be good. It's a nice night, I thought we could walk." He relaxed hearing her call him by the nickname.

"Sounds good to me; I've been sitting for the past four hours. My legs could use a stretch." She breezed by him, striding to the front door. He shook his head good-naturedly and hurried to catch up with her.

Clark had smiled to himself, seeing the flowers sitting on the corner of Lois' desk, amidst the files and loose papers cluttering the surface. Almost missing the security officer manning the front entrance issued Lois a goodnight and nod to him with polite warning.

"Thanks for the flowers by the way." Lois spoke, as though reading Clark's thoughts.

Blushing, Clark shrugged. "You're welcome."

"Alright Smallville, out with it!" Lois stopped dead, taking no heed to the fact that they were in the middle of the road. "Your hour drive yesterday to take me to lunch, the huge bouquet of flowers, delivered in front of the entire staff mind you, and dinner at a restaurant that obviously requires you to wear something other than plaid" she listed off the myriad of offenses "if I didn't know any better I would think that was your old fashioned attempt to 'court' me." She rolled her eyes at the word.

Clark seemed to be finding the street signs behind her of great interest as he refused to meet her inquisitive gaze. His cheeks had turned bright red during Lois' tirade while his hands had found the pockets of his dress pants.

"Clark are you even listening?" Her hands clutched her hips.

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "Yes Lois I'm listening. Can we have this conversation on the sidewalk?"

"Well if you're listening why aren't you-" understanding lit up her eyes, she could no longer avoid the obvious when it was literally staring her in the face "Oh my God."

Her exclamation was lost on Clark though, his hearing picked up a fast moving vehicle headed straight for them. Without giving it much thought he picked Lois up around her middle easily and sprinted to the sidewalk. He was careful not to move too quickly so as to incite any questions thus making their escape a very close call.

"Oh my God." Lois reiterated.

"Lois, are you alright?" Clark put her back on her feet, checking for any signs of injury.

"What the hell Clark? I don't take kindly to being man-handled." She stepped back.

"You were almost hit by a car!" He argued.

"Forget the car; just because I misconstrued an invitation to dinner and you think we're on a date doesn't give you the authority to relocate me at will!" Her voice rose in direct correlation to her rising temperature at the thrill she got having Clark so effortlessly pick her up.

"It would have ruined my appetite to see you splattered all over the road." Clark's frustrations got the best of him as was common when he was around Lois; allowing words to escape his mouth uncensored. "And as for dinner, I sent you flowers with the invitation Lois! What did you think I meant?" He knew he had her when she muttered curses at him under her breath.

"I hoped it was just a friendly gesture." Lois finally got out, immediately regretting speaking at all when Clark winced.

"Okay Lois." His eyes dropped as he took a self-conscious step backward, hands tightening into fists at his sides. "I asked you to dinner as a date." He clarified needlessly. "I thought I had made that clear but I guess I was wrong so if you'd rather we go to dinner as friends or skip the meal all together that's fine." He gave her a tight lipped smile.

It was Lois' turn to bow her head in a combination of thought and guilt. She hadn't intended to become so confrontational with Clark but the sensation of his body pressing against her own while he moved them off the road had sent her mind whirling. Mrs. Kent's easy acceptance of a potential romance between the two muscled its way to the forefront of her thoughts making her wonder what the observant woman had seen that she had missed. And somewhere in the back of her mind she could hear Buzz, a Navy Seal named for his rather loud snoring in the barracks, yelling that by the time she checked the temperature and rationalize any doubts about diving in the sun would have dried up the entire lake.

"No it's fine." She squared her shoulder and set her chin. "I'd hate for you to have donned something other than plaid for no reason." She teased. Clark released the breath he had been holding, knowing that Lois was willing to remain his friend. What she did next however, sent him reeling. With purposeful strides she moved up against him, fingering his shirt collar until her lips were at his ear. "As for this being a date….I'll let you know when the night's over." Gleaming eyes raked over his face before retreating a safe distance once more.

Dinner ended up being…interesting. There was a measure of awkwardness neither had experienced in the other's company before and conversation was stilted at the beginning as a result. Thankfully the arrival of their server did away with Lois' nerves; the man waiting on them made no attempt to mask his obvious attraction to Clark. Each time he retreated Clark was left with a deer in the headlights expression while Lois laughed outright at his plight.

The meals' end stirred some compassion in Lois, giving her the confidence to reach across the table to lay her hand on top of Clark's. Her actions didn't go unnoticed by their server who looked crestfallen, though Lois placated him with an apologetic shrug. Clark on the other hand was bombarded with hopeful exuberance at Lois small gesture. Her gentle touch ignited fire in his veins, sparking reactive jolts on every neuron. His skin felt as though it were glowing, radiating the heat that was suddenly suffocating him. And all too soon her touch departed; gathering her purse and stepping into the cooling night air, his thunderstruck frame close behind.

Clark was torn. He wanted to once more feel Lois' soft fingers wrapped in his but the overwhelming sensation that went with it would surely set him aflame. Lois made the decision for him, twining her arm around his bicep. He was grateful for the compromise she unknowing made; the fabric of his clothing creating enough of a barrier that coherent thought was not extinguished with her body so close to his.

"Where's your truck?" Lois stopped short in the underground parking garage of the government building.

"I didn't drive here. I figured I could get a ride home with you." Clark smiled.

"How'd you get here then?" She took a step back to eye him quizzically.

"I ran." Clark responded blandly, not sure where the sudden attack of honest had come from.

Lois blinked, rolled her eyes and reached for her keys buried somewhere in her purse. "Whatever. Everyone thinks they're a comic." She dismissed his teasing, and when she finally located the pesky cuts of mental she unlocked the doors.

The car hurried along the dark country roads while the two occupants inside traded stories of their pasts and the occasional barb. Clark blushed scarlet once more when Lois saw fit to remind him of his admirer at the restaurant that evening.

As they neared the Kent Farm the CD player changed disks, massaging the speakers with the instrumental sounds of The Arcade Fire.

_They say it fades, if you let it,_

_Love was made to forget it._

_I carved your name in my eyelids,_

_You pray for rain I pray for blindness_

Clenching his jaw Clark dug deep to find his courage. "What're your plans for tomorrow?" He turned to be able to watch her.

_If you still want me, please forgive me_

_The crown of love is not upon me._

_If you still want me, please forgive me_

_Because the spark is not within me._

_I snuffed it out,_

_Before my Mom walked in my bedroom._

_The only thing that you keep changin' is your name,_

_My love keeps growin' still the same, just like cancer,_

_And you won't give me a straight answer._

"Your mom's in Washington starting tomorrow so Murphy's Law dictates there'll be a crisis at work that I'll have to deal with while she's on the Hill." Lois sighed in spite of herself.

_If you still want me, please forgive me,_

_The crown of love has fallen from me._

_If you still want me, please forgive me,_

_Because your hands are not upon me._

"Oh, I was hoping you'd be free for dinner again."

"No sorry. I have a busy day tomorrow; if I manage to get out of the office before nine it'll be a miracle. Looks like you'll have to go somewhere else for your fix of wit and brilliance Smallville." She took her eyes off the road a second to smirk at him then tured into the long driveway.

_I shrugged them off, _

_Before my Mom walked in my bedroom._

_The pains of love and they keep growin' _

_In my heart there's flowers,_

_Growin' on the grave of our old love, _

_Since you gave me a straight answer._

"How about a movie Friday?" Clark tried again, he had gone so far already; he wasn't ready to pack it in and admit defeat yet.

"I may not be home until late." She warned before giving him a definitive answer.

"It's alright." He assured. "Unless you think you'll be too tired." He added.

Lois smothered a smile at him; even now he was providing her with an out. "I should be fine. I'll call you on Friday and let you know what time I think I'll be able to get away." She parked the car and leaned back in her seat to look at him.

_If you still want me, please forgive me,_

_The crown of love has fallen from me._

_If you still want me, please forgive me,_

_Because your hands are not upon me._

"So…" Clark started.

"So…" Came the teasing mimic from the driver's side.

"What's the verdict? Was this a date or just dinner between friends?"

_It's not within me_

_It's not within me_

A smiled played at the edges of his mouth as her arm reached around the back of Clark's head, pulling him across the consol to meet her lips.

_You gotta be the one,_

_You gotta be the way,_

_Your name is the only one, the only one that I can say. _

The moment stretched on, Clark's hands finding a place to anchor on her face and waist, marveling in the taste of Lois for the first time.

Lungs screaming, Lois pulled back slyly. "Is that answer enough for you Smallville?"

Rather than responding Clark once more captured her swollen lips with his.

"I'll call you Friday" was the parting promise Lois made when they separated the second time and Clark exited the car.

"Friday." Clark replied grinning happily.

**3/6**


	4. Chapter 4

See first post for disclaimer

**Part 4**

"You have the information on the Dubai ports deal?" Lois scanned her files while she listened to Senator Kent over the phone. "Who's scheduled to speak after the break?"

Lois' blonde streaked hair was pulled away from her face by an elastic but a few errant strands had escaped the confines and brushed at her jaw. "Okay, he's going to ramble about the history of economic theory for the first half of his time then draw a connection between the ports situation and whatever misquote of Adam Smith's he can think of. Just remember that no matter what he says he'll vote against the port sale."

"That's a good idea." Lois chuckled at Martha's words. "I'm sure it'll be the highlight on C-Span and CNN tonight. Alright, I'll talk to you when the Senate concludes. No problem; that's what you pay me for." Lois listened for a moment longer before hanging up the extension. Looking at the papers covering every surface in her office and the increasing number of unread messages in her email inbox she took a deep breath and rubbed at her eye.

"Hey Lois, the lobbyists for environmental clean-up are asking for a definite yes or no support by the Senator for the bill their sending to parliament next month. What do I tell them?" Sarah, a member of the PR group stood at her office door.

"Tell them that the Senator is in Washington currently, she'll address the clean-up bill as soon as she returns. Don't tell them when she gets back Sarah." Lois added, worrying at the possibility of loose-lips in house.

Sarah felt a presence behind her in the doorway and spun to find the Senator's son standing patiently, an upturn to his lips.

"I'm not interrupting am I?" His smile disappeared. "I can come back."

"What are you doing here?" Lois bit her tongue from calling him 'Smallville' in front of Sarah. "I thought I was going to call you." She was taken aback at his sudden appearance therefore didn't censor her words in front of the woman.

"I was in the neighborhood and figured you wouldn't have time to break for lunch, so…" he held a bag up from behind his back "I brought lunch to you." At Lois' non-reaction he ducked his head bashfully.

Sarah backed out of the room quietly, eager to tell everyone in her department that the Senator's son was bringing their Chief-of-Staff lunch. Most of the women in the building, single or not, were smitten with Clark Kent and were likely to be heartbroken that it was Lois Lane who had captured his attention.

"Great." Lois sighed as she watched Sarah make a fast getaway.

"What's wrong?" Clark took a step into the office.

"There goes the building's biggest gossip; you sure know how to make a spectacle Smallville." Lois pushed away from her desk and stood.

"What are you talking about?"

"Did you ever stop to wonder how it would look for me to have my boss's son showing up in my office with meals or to take me to lunch?" She moved around the room toward the door.

Clark blushed. "Not really." He admitted; he didn't see Lois as 'the Senator's Chief-of-Staff' but rather as the headstrong girl who had deposited herself in the center of his life. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make things harder for you." He shyly uttered, shifting to move for the exit.

Lois closed the office door resolutely, halting his motion. "Don't be sorry." She smiled. "Just try to use a little more discretion next time." She moved until she was in Clark's personal space, staring up at him with daring. "So what'd you bring me?"

Clark swallowed hard, words catching in his throat. "Ah…ahem…Greek Salad…"

"I told you I would call about getting together tonight; why the surprise visit?" Her lips twitched at his discomfort as she got closer still to him.

"What if I told you that I missed you and in case you called to tell me you weren't going to make it tonight I'd get to see you anyway?" Clark tried to control his breathing and maintain a grip on the bag of food still in his hand.

"I'd say that you were either codependent or really smooth for a farmboy."

"I'm not sure I like the sound of either option." Clark grinned, becoming at little more at ease at her close proximity.

"So why don't you tell me the real reason you're here?" Lois tilted her head in expectation of his answer.

Clark leaned in the short distance to her lips, greeting them in a gentle caress. "That's the real reason." He smiled at her open-mouthed astonishment

"I'm at work Smallville." She scolded once her brain began to function properly again.

"Call it retribution for Wednesday night; one shocking lip-lock deserves another." He teased.

Lois walked back around her desk, hoping the large piece of furniture between them would dissipate air of sexual tension. "Listen, I get that you're on a mission to make me swoon or something but if you actually want to see me tonight I'm going to have to kick you out." She went the extra step to stand behind her chair, knowing the added barrier could only help to clear her thoughts.

Clark's disappointment was evident but the promise of an evening with Lois was worth being chased from the building. "What time should I expect you tonight?" Somewhere there was a five year old in Clark jumping up and down with excitement.

"Some time after seven thirty."

"I'll see you then." He placed the salad he had brought for her on her desk, smiled knowingly, and headed for the door.

"Clark" Lois called to him "thank you, for coming all the way here just to bring me lunch. It's one of the….nicest things anyone's ever done for me." She cursed herself at the heat she was feeling on her cheeks; sure that Clark could see the blush.

The entire staff watched as Clark left Lois' office, a grin plastered to his lips and air of triumph surrounding him. By three in the afternoon the building was abuzz with the latest gossip of Lois and the Senator's son; many speculating that while the cat was in Washington the mice would be making use of an empty house.

**Friday Night**

Lois arrived at the farm later than she had wanted that evening. A cursory check of the house revealed Clark wasn't there. Despite her fatigue ladened body she marched to the open barn doors where sporadic streams of light caressed random pieces of hay scattered on the dusty floor.

"So this is where you're hiding." Lois greeted Clark, who was labouring over the aging tractor.

"Hey, I was wondering if you'd be able to get away after all." He dropped the tool in his hand and approached her.

"I ended up bringing some work home with me for the weekend but it was a better option than spending the rest of the night at the office."

"Have you eaten?" Clark was a ball of nerves now that Lois was a reality in front of him.

"Not since lunch."

"There's some food in the fridge that just needs to be heated up." He sidled up next to her hoping proximity would lead to another kiss.

Lois smiled at his thoughtful gesture. "Thanks, and while I'm eating you could do with a shower." Her raised eyebrows and slight step backward drew a groan from Clark.

"Do I smell that bad?" His crestfallen expression had Lois taking pity.

"Occupational hazard." She shrugged. "But all that manual labour does have its advantages." She nodded toward his broad chest and thick biceps.

Her eyes lost focus momentarily then reason returned to mind and she gave her self a literal shake. "Come on Smallville, there's food in your refrigerator with my name on it." Doing an about face any soldier would take pride in she began the trek back to the house, Clark two steps behind her.

Although he showered quickly, Clark couldn't scrounge up the courage to leave the relative safety of the bathroom. He had spent so much time trying to catch Lois' notice and shock her with his attentiveness that he hadn't stopped to question where or when his feelings for her developed.

It was strange to have someone other than Lana as his focus and yet he found he couldn't compare Lois to Lana because it didn't do the former justice. Less than six months previous, he had been prepared to propose to Lana; to spend the rest of his life with a girl he could honestly admit to no longer loving. Was his judgment faulty? Could he trust himself where Lois was concerned or were his feelings a result of the mounting comfort he felt in her presence? Was it the comfort or feelings that came first, was he trapping himself in another relationship based on familiarity and nothing more? Would he have pursued Lois so boldly if he hadn't been witness to her weekend interactions with Maddie?

"Hey Smallville!" He could hear Lois yelling from the bottom of the stairs. "Did you invite me over to hang out by myself cause I can do the same thing at my apartment but in my pajamas."

Smiling at her characteristic impatience, Clark shook his head at his own over analytical musings and supersped to his room to dress and return to Lois.

You know you're welcome to my clothes if you want to be more comfortable." Clark offered.

"Great, throw on the movie and I'll be back in a sec." She was already ascending the stairs before he could comment further.

His thoughts from the bathroom resurfaced at Lois' absence. He wasn't a shy teem outcast pining for the same girl as everyone else in the town anymore. He was a young adult with responsibilities and concerns no one his age or otherwise could understand; a young man falling hard for a woman that likely defied the impossibility of being more complicated than himself.

The power struggle in his relationship with Lana had existed beneath the surface; he could now recognize that she had used subversive tactics to keep the upper hand, it was part of why she hated the secrets. They kept her from absolute control. He couldn't really blame her for it though; it was one of the pitfalls of being in a relationship with someone you'd known so long. You end up playing the roles determined in childhood and unless both people are willing to grow and change the relationship becomes a handicap.

"So what movie are we watching?" Lois reappeared at the base of the kitchen stairs, sporting a Central Kansas sweatshirt and a pair of his boxers.

Startled from his musings Clark tripped over his words. "Umm, I- I didn't…"

"Smallville! I give you a simple task and you can't manage it." She threw her hands up in exasperation. "You'd fit in great at the office. I swear monkeys could take more initiative than the people I deal with every day." She rambled on, having moved to the TV cabinet to root through the movies stored within.

Lois was an entirely different breed, Clark realized. She didn't fight against change; she embraced it. Years of being uprooted by her father's transient military career had prepared her for life's little evolutions. And although she teased him she was the first to embrace and encourage changes he made in his own life.

"Sorry, I was thinking." He followed her to the living room to watch her bent over, looking for a title that interested her.

"Trust me on this Smallville, you do far too much of that." She looked over her shoulder at him. "See this is what a generation exposed to Dawson's Creek and Dr. Phil has become, over critical, self-analyzing and perpetually unsatisfied. You spend so long contemplating life that you miss out on living it." Satisfied with her movie choice she stood and turned around finding Clark inches from her face.

In one swift motion his large hand shot out, cupping the curve of her jaw and his mouth collided with hers. Lips that had been shy and uncertain earlier that day moved against hers demandingly. Lois felt her own lips parting of their own volition for his tongue; the DVD she had been clutching triumphantly, dropped to the hardwood as her fingers found the soft fabric of Clark's shirt instead. With nothing motivating her to break their kiss Lois settled for asking her question against Clark's mouth.

"What are you doing Smallville?"

He smiled at the use of the moniker in spite of their tongues battling for supremacy. Clark moved his free hand to her hip, pulling her tight to him. "Making sure I don't miss out on life." Hearing her own words repeated urged some sense into her brain, giving her the will to pull away.

"Living your life entails sticking your tongue down my throat?" She stopped staring incredulously at him long enough to locate the forgotten movie. Handing it off to him, she retreated to the kitchen.

"I'm getting a drink." She announced. "Want anything?" Clark merely smirked, setting about playing the movie.

In the next room Lois was hunched in front of the open refrigerator hoping the cool air would chase away the heat Cark had succeeded in suffusing within her body. She was actually wishing for a political distraction that moment; although she would be loathe to admit it, she would likely have more success reading a politician than she would have trying to get a read on Clark.

"Movie's starting." He shouted.

Allowing herself one more deep breath Lois grabbed two sodas and solidified her resolve to remain calm and collected no matter what Clark had up his sleeve.

"Thanks for not making me sit through a romantic comedy." He joked when she returned.

Lois eyed the space beside him dubiously, waging an internal debate over whether to sit there or safely in the adjacent chair.

"I save those to watch with Chloe." She smiled, plopping down next to him and depositing their drinks on the table.

"But Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story?" Clark raised his eyebrows at her. "I forgot we even had that movie."

"I haven't seen it for years." Lois pulled the blanket off the back of the couch to cover her bare legs.

Clark's blue/green gaze followed her deliberate movements; enraptured by the way she bit the edge of her bottom lip and scrunched up her nose until the cover was draped to her liking.

"I'm glad you're here." He allowed the impulse to speak reign supreme.

Lois met his eyes, holding them and drawing on the intensity emanating from their soulful depths. When she spoke he was not prepared for the question her lush lips formed.

"What are we doing Clark?" His surprise didn't cause her seriousness to waver. "I know you – or I thought I did." She didn't release his eyes, neither wanting to be the first to sever the connection. "You don't date casually. If you had asked me a month ago I would have said you don't date girls who aren't Lana."

"Lana and I are over." Clark interjected.

"Which I don't get. You pine for the girl for years and suddenly the two of you can't stand to be in the same room." There was no recrimination in her tone, just genuine confusion.

"No one could have been more shocked than me but everything that's happened this year's made me realize how far Lana and I have grown apart. I'll always care for her but staying with her wasn't fair to either of us." He concluded, finally dropping his eyes and sighing. "And you're right; I don't date casually."

"Bringing us back to my initial question. What are we doing?" She tilted her head in an attempt to see his face to gage his expression.

"Saying I like you and want to date you doesn't give enough weight to what I feel for you Lois." Fear flittered across her face but she steeled herself against it. "Being around you – with you, it's easy. You don't expect anything from me which makes me want to give you so much more. I've spent my whole life avoiding who I am; trying to be what I perceived everyone would want. When I met you I started to believe that I didn't have to change." A smile flirted at his lips. "Mostly because you likely wouldn't have been nice to me no matter who I was."

Lois smiled, nodding in agreement. "But we spend time together as friends; what's changed."

"What's changed is I don't want to have to think up an excuse to come to your apartment just so I can see you." His eyes flashed with guilt after reveal that truth. "I want to be able to tell you how beautiful you are." He replied earnestly, taking her hand in his. "You are beautiful." He insisted to which she shrugged in embarrassment. "I want to be able to touch you." His voice dropped as his fingers traced patterns on her palm and forearm. Choking down the doubt Clark decided to reveal his final card. "I want to be able to spend the weekend with you, whether you're working or sleeping or hanging out with Maddie." He kept talking, hopeful she had missed his words. "What's changed is the way I feel about you – if I'm honest I think I've felt this way since I met you, I'd just never felt anything like it so I didn't-"

"What'd you mean 'hanging out with Maddie'?" Lois had tuned him out after he had uttered those words.

"That's what you do on Saturday. Why you're never able to go to Metropolis or come over to work with my Mom." Clark answered carefully.

"Did she tell you that?" Lois asked wide eyed.

"Maddie? No." Clark shook his head.

"What would possibly give you that idea then?" She deflated slightly, sitting back into the cushions.

In his mind's eye Clark could see this conversation going many ways from this point and none of them boded well for him. "I went for a run last weekend and saw you and Maddie at the lake." He hated leaving out important details but the alternative was too dangerous to entertain.

"From that you gather I've been spending every Saturday with her? You're hiding something."

Clark glanced helplessly at the movie playing on the TV screen, searching for the appropriate words. "I was jealous." He finally said softly.

"What?" Lois aimed what could only be characterized as a frown of sarcasm at him.

"You were busy every Saturday and I was jealous. I thought you were seeing someone, and then I didn't know what you were doing." Clark neglected to realize his thought pattern wasn't very clear for Lois to track. "No one knew where you were going or what you were doing so I decided to um…follow you." He bit his own tongue for having let loose that truth.

"You followed me!" Lois sprung from the sofa violently. "You followed me!" The second time she said it, didn't make it sound any less pathetic.

"Yes I followed you. I was worried and I've seen too many things happen over the past few years to not pay attention when I'm worried. I tried to ask you about it," he pre-empted her question "you were evasive and changed the subject. I don't know why you didn't want anyone to know what you were doing, it's hardly criminal." He rolled his eyes.

"Hold it there Smallville, you don't get to be annoyed or upset about this. You're the one who followed me!" She pointed at him. "I like my privacy; I don't need to tell the world that I'm spending time with Maddie; you especially! Do you think I was chopping at the bit, waiting for your comments about my attitude toward her when we met or that I didn't deserve to spend time with her?"

"Lois what are you talking about?" Clark rose from the sofa to stand in front of her.

"And what's this about being worried? First you're jealous then you're worried, make up your mind and umf-"

Clark had found one more thing he wanted to be able to do: kiss Lois senseless when she was set to go on a rampage. He felt the anger drain from her as the kiss continued, sending both of them into a passion filled calm.

Clark broke away first, keeping a hold on her body. "I was jealous at first, when I thought you were dating someone. When I realized you weren't I started to get worried. That's when I decided to follow you" he forestalled any comment on her part by capturing her lips for another quick kiss "it was wrong and I shouldn't have done it but if you'd been in danger I never would have forgiven myself. But don't worry, I felt like a complete idiot when I found out what you were actually doing. It was all that, the jealousy and worry, that made me acknowledge that I felt more for you than I have for anyone ever before."

Lois was floundering. Clark had sent her reeling from one emotional high to another in a matter of seconds and now he was standing in front of her waiting for her to respond. With no words at her current disposal she leaned in to kiss him.

"You still haven't answered my question." She licked her lips seductively when they separated. "What are we doing?"

"Well I can't speak for you but I'm trying to win you over." He replied.

"Let's say for the sake of argument that you'd succeeded, but I'm still mad about you following me," she added "then what?"

"Then I'm going to try and persuade you to give me the esteemed title of Lois Lane's boyfriend." He ran his hand down the side of her face, watching as her dark green eyes began to shine brightly.

"Okay then, now that we have that cleared up." She pushed him hard onto the sofa, falling down with him. Her face hovered a breath from his but she made no move to close the distance. "You can start making up for following me tomorrow. My car needs to be washed and then I'm taking Maddie to the mall; you can come and carry our bags."

Clark's groan was muffled by Lois's mouth covering his in a fiery kiss.

4/6

Please R&R if you get the chance.


	5. Chapter 5

See first post for disclaimer

**Part 5**

A blue hue was cast over the living room, the movie having end hours earlier. Clark blinked at the blank screen and the time displayed on the TV. Lois hadn't made it even half-way through the film before succumbing to the temping bleakness that was unconsciousness and he was soon to follow.

Pushing a strand of hair away from her face, he watched for any sign she was waking. As if she could sense his thoughts she groaned into his shirt and shifted her weight from one side to the other while turning her head away from the TV. Clark stifled a groan of his own at the sensations she was creating while laying on top of him.

"Time's it?" She mumbled, her voice husky from sleep.

"Just after three." His answer was laced with his own fatigue.

"Shouldn't've lemme sleep." She complained half-heartedly. "Get'up….should go." Her brain couldn't quite form the words she intended releasing a speech that was barely coherent.

Clark took a deep breath and let it out gently, ruffling her hair resting just beneath his chin. "You shouldn't drive half asleep. You can stay here."

"That's your plan all along." Lois' lips formed a tired smile. "Want me alone an' tired, so'll be at your mercy." Her brain was slowing regaining some sense but her body didn't have the energy to spare to form the words fully.

"Wouldn't you like to know." He ran a hand down her back; stopping at the bottom of the sweatshirt of his she was wearing. "Seriously though, I'll stay on the couch; you take my bed."

Lois' head rose from Clark's chest. "Okay." She pulled herself up, kissed him briefly and was on her feet before Clark could form a clear thought. "Night Smallville." She smiled.

Clark blinked, raising himself on his elbows. "You never had any intention of going home; you were just waiting for me to give up my bed." Though she pulled a face of innocence her eyes gave away her devious mind.

"Wouldn't you like to know." She parroted his earlier phrase, leaned over for another taste of his lips then headed upstairs. "Better get some sleep Smallville, we've got a busy day ahead of us."

**SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS**

By nine the following morning Lois and Clark were on the road to Maddie's house. When he had woken earlier that morning, Lois had already left to head back to her own apartment to prepare for the day; but she did leave him a note explaining where she had disappeared to and warned that he should be ready to go when she returned to pick him up.

She had been surprised when she opened the door to her apartment to find Clark standing with two Talon coffees, one with her requisite three sugars, and a shy smile etched on his face. His reward had been a wide smile, showcasing perfectly straight white teeth and a kiss so deep he wondered if it were legal so early in the morning.

The car ride was devoid of any awkwardness as Lois regaled Clark with stories of over-zealous lobbyists and political train wrecks she'd had the displeasure of meeting in her new position. He laughed along as she divulged some of the staff's more colourful antics and listened with pride when she would talk of the way his mother dealt with the intricacies of her job.

With Lois verbally motoring non-stop, the trip flew passed and before he knew it, they were pulling into Maddie's familiar driveway.

As she had done the week before, Maddie bolted from the front door in a rush to greet her friends. The little girl sprinted with such enthusiasm that she missed seeing Clark seated in the passenger side of the car.

"Lois!" She shouted.

Slamming the driver's side door, Lois caught Maddie in a hug when the girl hurled herself into the larger body. "Whoa there ya speed demon. One of these days you're going to complete the tackle and we'll end up spending our Saturday in the hospital." She joked.

"What're we doing today?" Maddie pulled back and looked at her friend with intrigue.

"Well, last week your Grandma mentioned you need some new clothes for spring and summer cause you've out-grown the ones from last year, so what do you say to a trip to the mall?" She waggled her eyebrows.

"Really, we get to go shopping?" She cried. Her grandmother was great but shopping was best done with someone who'd know what was fashionable for her age.

"You bet! And I've even brought along our own personal bag carrier for the day." She pointed to the other side of the car where Clark was standing with his door still open.

"Clark!" Maddie's grin widened further and she ran to Clark's side.

"Hey Maddie." He bent to hug her as Lois had. "I thought I might tag along today, if it's alright with you." He added.

"Of course! This is so awesome." She jumped, spinning around to face the house. "I gotta go tell Grandma. I'll be right back." She stopped right before the porch to turn back to Clark and Lois, her hands out in front of her and a serious expression crowding her young features. "Don't. Go. Anywhere." She said simply and took off again.

"She seems to be getting over her shyness." Clark noted.

"She still withdraws sometimes. Not that I blame the kid…she's been through a lot." Lois twisted the keys in her hand.

"You're pretty amazing." Clark remarked.

Lois was startled at his rather abrupt observation. "What?"

"I've talked to Maddie on the phone a couple times and we've traded e-mails but here you are, every Saturday, spending the day with her." He smiled at her on the other side of the car.

"Yeah well, I kinda get where she's coming from. Living in a new place surrounded by people you don't know; it's a tough break." She downplayed her involvement in Maddie's life effortlessly.

The young girl reappeared on the porch, her grandmother close behind. Maddie had taken extra time inside to rearrange her hair to emulate Lois' long relaxed curls, her excitement bubbling over at the idea of spending the day with not only Lois but Clark as well.

"Hi Mrs. Michaels." Lois waved to the elderly woman.

"Hi Dear." She nodded.

"You remember Clark?" Lois indicated her guest.

"Of course. How are you Clark?" She smiled at the young man.

"Fine. Thank you Mrs. Michaels." He returned the platitudes.

"We should be back around dinner time but I'll call and let you know whether we're going to eat out or not." Lois told the old lady.

"You mind Lois and Clark now Maddie." Mrs. Michaels called after her granddaughter.

Maddie nodded, reverting to her mute behaviour far too easily; she kept her side of the conversation clipped until they were almost fifteen minutes down the road when she once more began to relax and answer Clark's questions while asking some of her own.

"Hey Clark, want to know a secret?" Maddie leaned as far forward from the back seat as her seatbelt would allow.

"You bet." Clark smiled boyishly.

"Lois' been helping me practice moving pieces of glass around. Now when I get mad things don't always break."

"I always knew you could do it Maddie. You're abilities don't have to be a bad thing." Clark didn't truly hear the words until they were out of his mouth and circulating within the car. He marveled at his own hypocrisy; he was endorsing Maddie's abilities while condemning his own.

"That's what Lois says. She says that it's a gift and that I can do really good things." Maddie was positively giddy sharing the news with Clark.

"You two do realize I'm sitting right here." Lois teased. "If you keep talking about me like I'm not here I'm going to get a complex." She huffed, winking at Maddie through the rear-view mirror so she knew she was kidding.

**SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS**

_**Mall**_

"I think you've bought as much as Maddie has." Clark pretended to be weighed down by the many bags he was carrying.

"It's going to be too hot for me to wear my suits to the office soon. I need some summer business attire." She shared a smile with Maddie. "Tell you what Smallville, why don't you take those bags out to the car so you don't have to lug them around and we don't have to listen to you complain." She tossed her keys to him and watched as he struggled to catch them without dropping the bags.

Maddie giggled at his efforts.

"We'll be looking at sunglasses over there in the meantime." She pointed to the store to his left. Lois bit the side of her cheek to keep from laughing at Clark's forlorn expression.

She redirected her focus toward Maddie who was just managing to get her chuckles under control. "So Kiddo, what kind of sunglasses are you thinking of?" Although the question was aimed at her young friend, her eyes followed Clark as he traveled through the mall away from them.

"I like those ones; they're like yours." She picked up a small black pair of sunglasses and tried them on. "Is Clark your boyfriend?" She asked casually.

Lois' lips had already begun forming the word 'no' when she abruptly stopped. After the previous week and more notably last night, she wasn't sure how to classify their relationship. Despite everything that had been shared between them, neither had broached the precarious topic of labels for their relationship.

"Why'd you think Clark's my boyfriend?" She queried, hoping to forestall Maddie before having to answer her earlier question.

"You guys are always hanging out together and he lets you make fun of him." She shrugged. "He looks at you funny and you look at him funny too." She continued to peruse the sunglasses selection. "He's really cute."

Maddie wad beginning to wonder if she had been wrong about Clark being Lois' boyfriend but she was hoping she hadn't been. She wanted Clark to come with them every time they went out on Saturdays…well maybe not every time; she liked her girl time with Lois.

"I guess…" Lois paused "Yeah, Clark is my boyfriend." She surprised herself when the admission rolled off her tongue. "And you're right he is really cute." She raised knowing eyebrows at Maddie. "You're a pretty smart kid." She pulled her to her side for a short hug.

"I know." Maddie answered, replacing a pair of sunglasses on her nose.

Laughing aloud, Lois rolled her eyes sky-ward. "I think you've been spending too much time with me; you've already got the Lane bravado down." She nodded at the little girl. "I like those ones." They made their way to the cashier before leaving.

When Clark arrived back to the store Maddie and Lois were standing out front, bag in the former girl's hand.

"I was gone a couple minutes and you've already bought something?" His eyes widened incredulously.

"It's okay Clark, I'll carry this one." Maddie held up the tiny bag smiling impishly.

He returned her smile, a sucker for her childish charms. "Where to next ladies?" He gallantly held out his arm for Lois and his hand for Maddie as she couldn't quite reach his elbow.

"We need to make one more stop, and then we'll go somewhere to eat and put you out of your misery." Lois slid her hand into his rather than take the proffered arm, winking at the shy looked of surprise on Clark's face. On the other side of Clark's frame Maddie watched as the adults shared a look of longing; she ducked her head to keep her giggles from them.

The large sporting goods store spelled a reprieve for Clark from the monotony of female clothiers. His eyes danced over the inline skates, hockey sticks and basketballs as they moved toward the wall of footwear. Lois explained that Maddie's grandmother had signed her up for soccer that summer and she would need a pair of cleats. Finally feeling in his element, Clark jumped into surveying the merchandise choices.

"I like those ones." Maddie pointed to the cleats a few inches out of her reach.

"These are good. Support around the ankles, stiff toe and high lacing." Clark listed the attributes as though he were intending to make the sale himself.

"I like them cause they have purple that matches my uniform." Maddie divulged.

Clark appeared dumbstruck at the logic of the girl. "Oh um…that too." He mumbled.

"Where'd you want to go to eat?" Lois asked, clearly amused at the situation.

Maddie cocked her head to the side, thinking carefully about the question. "Can we get spaghetti?"

"You bet." Clark nodded, gathering the shoe box to take to the front.

The middle aged man working the register smiled as the three approached; the smaller of the group was barely able to see over the tall counter.

"Were you folks able to find everything you 'er lookin' for?" He drawled.

"We did, thanks." Clark smiled at him, resting his hand briefly on Maddie's head.

"Ah, so you've got a future soccer star on your hands." The clerk winked at Maddie as he rang in the box. "You make sure your Mom and Dad here get you out practicing; I'm going to be lookin' for you on TV in the future."

Clark's eyes bulged in their sockets and he glanced quickly to his right where Lois was stunned silent. Unsure of Maddie's reaction to the man's unknowing comment, he turned his gaze down. She had her hands covering her mouth to keep from shrieking with laughter at Lois' uncharacteristic state.

"We're not her parents" Clark informed the man "we're friends."

"Clark's Lois' boyfriend." Maddie managed to get out around her titters.

"How old do you think we look?" Lois sputtered indignantly.

"Sorry Miss, you just got that family vibe." The man appeared trite, trying to hurrying up the purchase.

"I don't know what you were doing when you were ten but I certainly wasn't having a baby!" She ranted.

"I really am sorry Miss." The clerk seemed to shrink before their eyes.

"Come on Maddie." Lois snagged the little girl's hand with her left and headed for the door.

**SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS**

"And he actually had the nerve to tell me I can't trust Lex." Lana shook her head, dismayed. "Is this some big game to him? He doesn't want to be with me but no one else can either?"

"Clark's just trying to look out for you and yes he has a poor way of showing it but he means well." Chloe soothed.

The two girls walked around the fountain in the middle of the busy mall, coffee in one hand and purchases in the other. It had been Lana's suggestion to go shopping as an excuse to spend time together; despite being roommates they saw very little of one another with Lana spending the majority of her time with Lex and Chloe balancing school and work.

"I know but he's undermining my ability to take care of myself and he was the one who wanted to break up in the first place." They continued to walk through the building. "I think Clark wants to get back together but now that I'm with Lex it's impossible."

"Do you want to get back with Clark?" Chloe whipped around to eye her friend.

"Maybe." Lana admitted. "But it doesn't matter because I'm have Lex." Her dark eyes steeled themselves with the declaration. "Is Lois in Metropolis today?" Lana's gaze drifted a few stores down.

"Not that I know of. Why?" Chloe took a large gulp of her coffee.

"Isn't that her?" Lana gestured.

"Yeah, it is." Chloe answered with delighted surprise.

"Who's the little girl with her?" The two watched as Lois spoke seriously to the laughing child.

"I have no idea." Chloe's brow furrowed. She opened her mouth to call out to her cousin when she caught sight of a familiar form moving into her line of view. "What's Clark doing here?" She muttered.

"We should go say hi." Lana began walking toward them.

**SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS**

Clark took the extra moment to pick up the bag. "Sorry about that, she gets irritable when she hasn't eaten." He frowned apologetically.

"No problem. Women are testy about their age most of their lives; I should've known better than to open my big mouth." The clerk joked. "You take care and I hope those cleats work out for your friend."

"Thanks." Clark rushed after his shopping companions. "Hey!" He called after them.

"I saw you laughing in there Smallville." Lois glared. "There was absolutely nothing funny about that guy thinking we're old enough to be Maddie's parents."

"Oh come on Lois, it was a harmless mistake. Maddie thought it was funny, didn't you?"

Maddie glared, not please with being dragged into Lois' line of fire. "It was funny cause the guy must have been blind to think you guys were old enough to have me." She shook her head at Clark's grateful expression as Lois deflated beside her. "Come on you guys, I'm hungry." She piped in once more.

Clark wrapped his arm around Lois' shoulders while Maddie kept hold of her hand on the other side. A question floated through Clark's mind as he remembered something Maddie had said in the store. "Maddie, who told you I was Lois' boyfriend?"

"Lois." Came her simple answer.

"Oh really?" A sly grin spread across his lips.

"Shut up Smallville." She warned, a blush creeping up her neck.

"Well now that Maddie knows I'm your boyfriend I can do this right?" He leaned down and stole a quick kiss.

"That's so gross." Maddie giggled.

"Yeah, gross." Lois agreed, a teasing glint in her eyes while she reached up to wipe at the lip gloss Clark was wearing.

"Clark? Lois?"

"Chloe!" Lois turned in surprise. "Lana." She smiled brightly at the newest arrivals, hoping to dispel the uncomfortable silence that descended over the group and cover her unease. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Shopping." Was Chloe's witty retort, her eyebrows yet to journey back from her hairline. "What are you doing here? With Clark? Kissing?"

"We're here shopping for Maddie." Lois blurted out quickly, the awkwardness of the situation settling in on her consciousness.

She was standing in a busy shopping centre in a city with millions of people and she and her new boyfriend had managed to run into said boyfriend's former girlfriend, who was currently frowning, and her cousin who also happened to habour feelings for him at one point in time; fate was far too adept at cruel and unusual punishment. And the boyfriend in question had yet to utter a single word.

"I'm assuming you're Maddie?" Chloe looked over at the girl on Lois' left.

Maddie nodded, shyly moving a step behind Lois under the scrutiny of the new girls. Sensing her withdrawing, Lois tugged on the hand she held.

Clark leaned into Lois, whether he was aware of it or not, portraying a telling picture. "Yes, she is." He confirmed, finding his voice. "Maddie, this is Lois' cousin Chloe and our friend Lana."

"It's uh, nice to meet you Maddie." Lana pasted a smile on her face for the sake of the little girl; though she was bewildered by the hurt she experienced seeing Clark and Lois together.

"So mind letting us in on what's going on between you two?" Chloe tilted her head toward the older pair, sipping on her coffee.

"Clark's Lois' boyfriend." Maddie revealed.

Chloe sputtered while Lana gaped. "Of all the times she picks to talk, now's one of them." Lois muttered under her breath, causing Clark to grin.

"Hey Maddie, let's go get a pretzel to snack on; I'll never make it to lunch." Clark suggested. "We'll be down the hall when you're ready to go." He casually kissed Lois' temple. "Chlo, I'll talk to you later. Lana, good to see you." And then he was gone.

"You are so dead Clark." Lois once more whispered under her breath.

"Clark does have those quick exits down." Chloe quipped. "So ah, when did this happen?" She smirked. "Or more importantly how? You and Clark were barely tolerating one another not too long ago."

"Okay, first of all I was going to tell you." Lois held out her hands as a gesture of both innocence and confirmation. "But it happened so quickly. I mean one day Clark shows up to take me to lunch and the next he's sending me flowers and we're going on a date. This whole take charge attitude he's got going on is really hot." She rambled.

"Let's start from the beginning, when did this first lunch take place?" Chloe inquired.

"Monday."

"Last Monday?" Lana's eyes widened. "And now suddenly you're dating exclusively?"

"Is this as weird for you two as it is for me?" Lois rubbed her temples, a headache approach at breakneck speed. "Everything kind of changed after we spent last night together."

"You spent the night together!" Lana looked positively scandalized.

"We didn't have sex!" Lois denied rather loudly, drawing looks from the odd passerby. "We had one of those deep and meaningful conversations." She rolled her eyes facetiously. "Smallville can be very charming when he wants to be." She shrugged innocently.

"Coz, I wouldn't believe if I wasn't seeing it but you're falling for Clark Kent." Chloe smiled with delight.

"She is?" Lana bristled.

"I am not….well maybe….a little bit." Lois' eyes immediately began searching for the topic of conversation throughout the throng of people around her.

"I'll let you get back to your 'boyfriend' but only if you promise to call me tonight with all the gory details." Chloe's eyebrows waggled for emphasis.

"This is okay right?" She asked Lana, considering the girl a friend and not wanting to step over any lines.

Lana grinned. "Of course, who Clark dates is of no concern to me. And anyway I'm with Lex now." However those words gave her no comfort as jealousy and hurt boiled beneath the surface.

"K then, I'll see you guys later." She leaned in to hug Chloe. "Are you sure this is alright with you?" She whispered the meaning evident behind her words.

"Trust me when I say yes." She replied softly. "I saw this coming years ago and I couldn't be happier for you guys." Chloe's genuine smile was enough to assuage any guilt on Lois' part.

**SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS**

When Lana had seen them at the mall, she had been sure their hook-up would be short lived; in fact she wouldn't allow herself to go so far as to refer to it as a relationship but Clark and Lois had proven her wrong. In just over a month they had become inseparable in their off hours and Chloe had mentioned that Clark was becoming somewhat of a fixture at the Senate office in Topeka. What made the entire scenario even worse was that the closer Lois and Clark became, the more strained her relationship with Lex turned.

But Lana had to admit that she really did like Lois, which was why she found herself in Smallville on a Sunday evening. It was her duty as a friend to warn Lois of the pitfalls of continuing her relationship with Clark before anyone ended up hurt.

"Hey." Lana watched from her place at the front doors of the Talon as Clark approached Lois from behind, trapping her with his arms on either side of her on the counter.

"Hey there stranger." She smiled and continued to pour sugar into her coffee. "What's up?" Leaving her mug on the counter, Lois spun to face him.

"My mom's home tonight and she's cooking I was just making sure my gorgeous girlfriend would be joining us for dinner." His hands dropped to encircle her waist.

"Like you even have to ask." She quirked an eyebrow, smiling when Clark bent his head to press his lips to hers in a lingering kiss. "Mmmm, I have some work to do before I come over though."

"Want some help?" Clark asked earnestly.

Lois chuckled. "The last time you 'helped' I spent all of two minutes reading then ended up on the couch learning to breathe through my nose."

"But you were learning something at the time." Clark teased.

"You bet and when the Senate decides to vote on kissing technique you can help me work as much as you like." She tilted her head upward to steal another kiss. "I'll be over in a little bit and you'll have me to yourself for the rest of the night."

"You'll get no argument from me." He shrugged and released her. "I'll see later."

Lana moved away from the door and into a crowd at one of the tables as Clark left the establishment. After the display he and Lois put on she wasn't in any mood to make idle conversation; she would speak to Lois and be on her way.

"Lois?" She addressed the other woman softly.

"Lana? Hi." The surprise was fleeting and Lois immediately replaced it with a smile. "Are you in town seeing Lex?"

"No Lex is in Geneva this week; I actually came here to see you." Her expression was closed to whatever she was thinking.

"Oh, well okay." Lois once more felt off balance in the conversation, not having spoken to Lana for any great length of time since seeing her at the mall over a month earlier. "Is everything okay?" Her mind went to countless horrific situations involving her cousin.

"Yeah everything's fine. I just wanted to talk to you." Lana implored, her nerves showing as she twisted her hands.

"Okay then, let's go up to the apartment." She nodded to the stairs wondering what Lana could possibly want to discuss with her.

Once the door closed behind them the air thickened, a heavy tension bearing down with insurmountable force.

"So what's going on? You're not usually this high strung." Lois attempted the joke but its comedy was lost in the dense foreboding aura infringing on her mind.

**SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS**

Clark was on his way home when he remembered that he had intended to ask Lois about the Independence Day celebration the governor was planning. He thought it would be fun to spend the long weekend in Topeka and attend the gala at the governor's mansion. Changing directions, he headed back to the Talon. As his hand was raised to knock his hearing picked up voices on the other side of the apartment door; though his conscience waved the proverbial red flag at his actions Clark continued to listen.

**SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS**

"I'm not really sure how to say this…" she paced in front of the sofa "it's about Clark." Lois waited expectantly as Lana gathered her thoughts. "I wanted to make sure you understood what you're getting into with him."

Lois squinted at Lana in confusion. "I'm not sure I'm following you."

"Clark's a sweet guy and it's easy to get caught up in his charms but he's not as invested as you are in your relationship. He'll say all the right things but he'll never be honest with you."

"Honesty isn't exactly something I'm concerned about from the original farmboy." Lois rolled her eyes. "I'm not sure what you're hoping to accomplish but Clark and I are fine thanks."

Lana knew this conversation wouldn't be easy to hear for Lois but she wasn't going to give up. "You don't understand. You can't trust Clark. He hides things about himself; aren't you bothered by all the secrets he keeps? You're going to end up getting hurt."

"If there's one thing I know, it's that Clark would never hurt me intentionally and the fact that you would think he could makes me wonder why you were with him in the first place." Lois bristled at Lana's comments. "As for Clark's secrets, he'll tell me when he's ready and not a moment sooner. Badgering the truth out of him isn't going to do either of us any good although I think I can see now why you and he didn't work out."

"This isn't about my relationship with Clark." Lana argued.

"Isn't it?" Lois countered. "I don't know where your hang-ups came from but they're not mine. I don't expect my boyfriend to give me a tell-all in the first month of our relationship. That's why people date; to learn about one another."

"You're willing to be with a man who doesn't share all of himself with you?" Lana couldn't grasp Lois' reasoning and her frustration was beginning to show.

"If I am it's really none of your business." Lois fumed. "How about I share something with you? I despise hypocrites." She moved closer to Lana, her voice lowered menacingly. "When Clark warned you off Lex you cut him up but yet here you are in my apartment doing the same thing to a guy who would lay his life down for you. Secrets I can live with, treachery I can't." She bit out around a clenched jaw. "I think you should leave now."

Lana headed for the door more out of self protection than anything else; Lois appeared on the verge of lashing out and hitting her. As she turned the handle she took one final parting shot. "How long do you think you can live with the not knowing? How long can you live knowing that he doesn't trust you?" She opened the door. "Eventually you'll realize he would be honest with you if he truly cared about you." And she was gone.

**SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS **

Clark had experienced a full range of emotions while listening outside Lois' door. He had been furious when Lana had begun talking and touched at how Lois defended him; he had been surprised that Lois didn't mind his secrets and guilty that he hadn't told her yet. Chloe had mentioned telling Lois his secret a few times but he had brushed her off by claiming the relationship was too new.

He was no longer ignorant to the realities of life; he had worn blinders for too long with Lana and he refused to do the same with Lois. But Lois wanted to be with him; secrets and all. It was hearing her stand on the issue that made his decision for him: he wanted nothing more than to be able to tell the woman he had fallen in love with who he was. So he would, simple as that.

_5/6_

Please R&R if you get the chance.


	6. Chapter 6

See first post for disclaimer.

**AN**: Sorry, about forgetting the content warning. Shows that you shouldn't post at three in the morning. This next chapter is rated M….well parts of it at least. Please don't venture further if you're not of age. Thanks.

**Part 6**

The conversation that evening at the dinner table was seamless, no thanks to Clark. He chewed each forkful of his meal thoughtfully as his mother and Lois conversed, giving him the opportunity to fret over his coming confession. Lois kept Lana's appearance at the Talon to herself and besides being slightly irritated when she arrived at the house, the confrontation did not seem to have left much of an impression on her. Clark's musing ended with dinner; forcing him to emerge from his internal dialog in order to do what he intended.

Once the dishes were cleared from the table he retreated outside, Lois quickly following after him. She found him standing at the fence near the driveway, staring out over the land he worked each day; something had changed in him between his visit to the Talon and now, resulting in a slow trickle of foreboding into her veins.

"What's wrong?" Her question cut through the fear and guilt that surrounded him

Clark stared at her for several long seconds, seeming to be contemplating her very existence. "Come with me." It was a simple phrase that carried more weight than any others she had heard. Taking her hand, he led her to his truck and took off for parts unknown.

Not five minutes later he shut the engine off, meeting her at the front of the vehicle and once more taking her hand. Lois hadn't spoken since her question at the farm, trusting that Clark would reveal his motives when he felt it was appropriate.

"Mind telling me what we're doing here Smallville?" Lois frowned at the still surface of water stretched out before them.

"I need to tell you something and I didn't want to be interrupted when I do." He sat down on a fallen log by the water's edge, pulling Lois down beside him.

"And we couldn't have gone to your loft?" Lois' anxiety began to build as she watched a sense of serenity settle over her companion.

"I used the loft to insulate myself; I don't need to do that when I'm with you." He kept his eyes angled toward the water, a smile playing at corners of his lips.

"Well now that we're here what's 'the something' you have to tell me?" She shifted her weight on the log, trying to find a position of comfort.

"For a long time I wondered if I was ever meant to find happiness. Even when I thought I was in love with Lana I was never truly happy with her." He confessed. "But then you came along and most of the time I just wanted to strangle you" he chuckled at Lois' sly smile "but the rest of the time….the rest of the time I was happier than I had ever been. I don't want you to think I'm pressuring you for promises of happily ever after because I'm not. I don't know where we're going to be next year or even next month but I know that I love you today and I'll love you tomorrow." He lifted his hand, tracing the outline of her lush lips, catching the single tear that escaped through a wall of lashes before it could mare her smooth skin.

Lois took a shuddering breath. "Okay, I wasn't expecting that." She attempted to laugh at herself but succeeded only in grimacing.

"Like I said, I don't want you to-" Clark was cut off as Lois swallowed his words with her mouth in a heart stopping kiss.

"You've been surprising me since the day I met you and you have no idea how happy I am that you're not pledging your life to me" she chuckled "because quite frankly I'm not sure I'm ready to hear that but I do love you." She captured his hand in her own, drawing it from her face and twining their fingers together. "More than I thought possible." She whispered, sharing another kiss.

They were lost but found; free falling but safe in the arms of the one they loved; hungry but sated; weak but made strong. They were in love.

"I have to tell you something else; something important." Clark pulled back, feeling every inch of space between them.

"You have Gonorrhea." She stated.

"What!" Clark pulled back to look at her.

"No?" she tilted her head "Chlamydia?"

"Where would you get the idea that I had Gonorrhea?" Clark furrowed his brow trying to read her expression.

"When we're together you're always careful of how far we go. The second we get a little too passionate you're cooling things off."

"You noticed that?" Clark blushed.

"It's kinda hard to miss." She ran a hand through his hair in the hopes of reassuring him. "I figured you might be scared about having sex because of some disease you were diagnosed wtih.

He sighed. "I don't have Gonorrhea but I'm starting to wish I did."

"Who wishes for Gonorrhea?" Both her eyebrows rose in confusion.

"What I'm going to tell you is kinda a deal breaker." His knee bounced up and down showing the first signs of nervousness. "I was born with abilities no human could possess." He continued when Lois' expression didn't change. "Because I'm not human; I'm Kryptonian." He waited a beat. "Say something."

"I'm waiting for the punch line." Lois answered expectantly.

"There isn't one. I know this is hard to believe but I'm from a planet called Krypton --- it doesn't exist anymore but before it was destroyed my parents sent me here, to Earth, so I could survive." Fear radiated off of him in waves, slamming into her still form.

"You're not making this up." Lois whispered. She pulled away from him, standing and taking a backward step toward the water. "This is what you wouldn't tell Lana." Everything was beginning to fall into place; lucky breaks, mysterious disappearances and the secrets Lana had warned her about. "Why me? Why now?" She dropped her eyes, unable to face the rejection rippling across his face.

"I'm not sure I can give you an answer that makes a whole lot of sense. It was just a feeling I got; the truth doesn't seem so scary when I'm with you." He wanted to retreat but knew he would stick it out. "I'll understand if-"

"Shh." She admonished. "I'm thinking."

Tree frogs chirped and water lapped at the jetting dock as Lois contemplated Clark's revelation. As each silent minute drifted by Clark felt dread tightening the noose around his neck. His relationship with Lois was at its end but he knew his secret would be safe with her; Lois was loyal to her very core.

"This is big. Really big. Wow. Okay….your parents? No wait, you're adopted so they're human, this is just….big." Her fingers sifted through her hair.

"I can take-" he tried again.

"What part of 'I'm thinking' didn't you get Smallville?" She glared. A few long seconds later she raised her eyes to his again. "So what exactly does it mean to be Krypt-whatever." At his blank look she huffed. "You said you're different. How? Cause from where I'm standing ya look pretty much like most people."

"I haven't encountered anything I can't lift. I can move faster than a bullet and catch them while I'm at it. I can see through most anything and heat things with my eyes. Here." He nodded to the sand next to her feet. Concentrating on one area the sand soon began to glow and when the smoke cleared there was a chunk of glass nestled amongst the tiny granules. "It means we could never be intimate." He blushed.

"I guess we'll have to figure it out as go." She shrugged.

"That's what I thought you'd – wait." He shook his head, sure he had misheard her.

"Don't look so surprised Smallville. I don't make declarations of love lightly; so the fact that you've got a few different chromosomal combinations isn't about it make me walk away." She kissed him to confirm what she was saying. "Like you said, we don't know where we'll be in a year or month from now but today and tomorrow I love you and being Krypt…"

"Kryptonian." He supplied.

"Right, doesn't change that."

Clark's smile lit the lake enchanting her with its sincerity. "Come on, let's go home; you've got to work tomorrow." He stopped her suddenly, his hand getting lost in locks of her hair as he dragged her lips to his, searing her soul with an imprint of his love.

**SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS**

It had been another long week for Lois; with Mrs. Kent in Washington again set to vote on the level of privatization of domestic healthcare, her phone had been ringing off the hook. The car ride back to Smallville had served as time to get into a heated argument with a member of the PR staff for intimating to the press what direction the Senator would vote on the issue. By the time she reached the Kent farm she was so keyed up that the day's fatigue melted away in favour of energized frustration.

"Hey, how was work?" Clark had left the barn when he heard her car approaching.

"You know those days when nothing can go right? This was the third one of those in a row." She sighed in dismay.

Wrapping his arms around her, Clark trapped her in a smoldering kiss. "Come on inside; you're probably hungry."

He pulled her along into the house, missing the dark flash of desire in her hazel orbs. She was most definitely hungry, but her pallet was not craving food. As soon as they stepped foot in the kitchen she made her move, claiming his lips with her own.

"Lois, what's going on?" Clark managed to get the question out around their kiss.

"I want you." She answered.

"You have me."

Pulling back Clark saw the desire pooling in her eyes. "No Clark, I _want_ you." Her meaning was clear and very dangerous.

Putting some distance between them he shook his head, matching the shaking in his hands. "You know we can't. It isn't safe for you." Lois wasn't letting him get away that easily. "Do you trust me?"

"What? Of course." Clark was confused and trying to maintain the distance between them that Lois seemed intent upon closing.

"And I trust you." She moved faster than he anticipated and cut off his escape by cornering him by the stove. "Which is why I know you would never hurt me." She forestalled his argument by raising her hands. "But because I know you don't trust yourself I came up with a solution." She turned one of her raised hands to show him a gaudy looking ring on her finger. "If your…passions get a little out of control all I have to do is flip open the top on this ring and…well let's just say that Kryptonite is going to give us a sex life." She smiled.

"You had a Kryptonite ring made?" His eyebrows jumped with surprise.

"I'm very resourceful when I need to be." She shrugged.

"But Lois what if something happens before you can open that ring?"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

"But it's not one I am. Having you die during…" he made a few gestures, not able to get the actual word out "is not a risk worth taking."

"But what a way to go." She joked.

"That isn't funny." He pointed accusingly.

"Sorry" she appeared sufficiently rebuked "but that doesn't change the fact that you and I are going to have sex." She unbuttoned her suit jacket, letting it fall to the floor and in the next second she had pulled her shirt over her head. "I thought we'd be doing this in your bedroom but if the kitchen table's more your style, we can do that." She kicked off her heels.

"Lois? What's going on?" He swallowed the lump in his throat at seeing Lois clad only in her low rise dress pants and sky blue lace bra.

"Have you looked at yourself lately Smallville? You're one very sexy farmboy and I intend to have my way with you. Now strip." Her hands went to the zipper at the side of her pants but Clark's large hands stopped her from divesting herself of that item of clothing.

"You're serious." Clark concluded.

"What tipped you off?" She rolled her eyes.

"Lois I-"

"Hey." Her hands framed his face; he could feel the cool band around her finger. "We'll go slow. We can't live in fear of what might happen Clark. Sometimes you just have to take a chance.

She planted a series of kisses on his neck. He was struggling with the decision; she could see the war manifest itself on his face. Her tongue joined the battle, laving at his pulse, determined to win. His hands caressed her bare sides, drawing abstract patterns; his resolve was crumbling and Lois wasn't above taking advantage of his weakened state. She moved her hands under his t-shirt allowing her nails to rake over his smooth skin gently.

"So what's the verdict Smallville?" She whispered huskily against his jaw. "Kitchen or bedroom?"

Without uttering a word Clark led her up the stairs and into his bedroom, the summer sun kept the room bright despite the evening hour. He got rid of his own white shirt pausing to savor the taste of Lois' lips against his own. Seeing Lois preoccupied with touching the newly revealed skin of his upper body, Clark unzipped her pants and dropped to his knees while taking them from her body.

He took the time to lavish attention on her abdomen, his fingers traveling up her curves, cupping her breasts in his hands; his lips still distracted by the tanned flesh on her stomach. His arms wrapped around her middle, holding her to him.

"Tell me this is going to be okay." He pleaded; gaze alight with both concern and passion.

"This is going to be okay." She stated resolutely and pulled him up by his shoulders to seal the promise through a kiss. With amazing precision Lois had Clark's jeans at his ankles, waiting for him to shed his boots and socks to free them from his legs.

They fell on the bed together, Lois landing atop of him and straddling his hips. The light cotton of his boxers did nothing to hide his hard length from her notice; she ground against him experimentally and smiled when he groaned. She leaned over tasting the salty flavor of the skin of his chest, alternating between nipping at his toughened skin and kissing her way down his flat stomach.

Clark sat still no longer, nimble fingers sliding across the plains of Lois' back, unhooking her bra to free her breasts for further attention. She sat up, letting the scrap of material slid down her arms as Clark's eyes drank in sight of her form. He sat up with her on his lap, his right hand going to one naked breast while his mouth found the other. Lois tipped her head back at the sensation, giving him a better position at her chest. Taking a cue from her, he bit lightly at her nipple, soothing it with a lazy sucking motion. He pulled away only long enough to turn to the other breast and give it the same attention.

Without realizing how it happened, they were free of their underwear. The feeling of skin on skin was overwhelming and Lois had to sit back to once more get her bearings. Clark laid back on the bed at her silent insistence and Lois moved down his body until she was at eye level with his hard length. Deliberate fingers traced him from head to hilt, sending his hips flying off the bed, enjoying the feel of him beneath her fingers.

"Condom." She said.

It took a moment for the words to sink in and make sense. "I don't have any. I didn't think this was a possibility." She could see the devastation written on his face.

"Bedside table under the blank CDs." She told him, her attention once more focused on the rather large matter at hand.

Clark opened the drawer blindly and withdrew a package of condoms. "Where did these come from?"

"I put them there last week." She informed him with a cheek grin, reaching up to take a foil packet from his hand. She took out the condom but paused before placing it on him, grinning wickedly, she bent to place a kiss on the head of his penis; she took extra time to run her tongue along the underside.

"Oh my God." Clark's breathing grew heavier as she slid the latex over him. He needed to regain some control over the situation before Lois sent him soaring beyond the point of return.

Anchoring his hands on her hips, he flipped them around, settling Lois on her back in the middle of the bed and him between her thighs. Placing his weight on arms at either side of her, Clark looked down at the gorgeous woman lying before him. Despite both being at their most vulnerable neither had ever felt safer.

"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on."

He smiled at his lover, his lips journeying down the contours of her inviting body until they reached the apex of her thighs. His long fingers found her throbbing heat, ensuring she was ready for him; feeling great pride when he realized she was.

Clark slid back up Lois' body, the friction serving to excite both of them further. Their eyes met in understand; Lois witnessed Clark's shaking at the surreal experience and brought his head down to hers, lips and tongues dueling in a battle that was determined a draw before had begun. It was then she felt him move, sliding with one careful stroke inside her.

Neither moved. Both needing the time to catch their breath.

"I won't break. I promise." She whispered. "I love you."

Clark rested his forehead on hers. "I love you too."

Their kiss resumed and Lois wrapped her legs around his hips, changing their angle and urging Clark to move. They established a rhythm as Lois countered with every thrust of Clark's; time was suspended around them, pressure building to unimaginable heights. Lois could feel her climax beginning in the pit of her stomach, letting loose a flood of warmth from head to toe. She was adrift, lost in the sensation of Clark moving within her. He tensed above her, his own end near; just as she began to regain some sense she felt Clark spiral into his own pleasure filled abyss, taking her along for the ride once again.

Flying.

It was the only thought that entered his mind.

This was better than flying.

"Clark?" Lois spoke softly to the incredible man laying on her.

"Hmmm." Was all he could come up with, his head resting against the side of hers.

"That wasn't me screaming was it?"

No response was forthcoming but she could feel Clark shaking up and down, sending pleasure once more coursing through her where they were still joined. When she shifted her head to look at him she could hear him chuckling.

"I knew you were loud but I never would've expected you to be so vocal." He said around his laughter. "We're just lucky our closest neighbours are a couple miles away."

"Oh God, I can't believe I did that." She covered her face with her hand while Clark shifted off of her and moved to lay by her side.

"It was definitely one of the sexiest things I've ever heard." He revealed, moving her hand from her face so he could kiss her. "You didn't have to use the ring." He noted with relief.

Lois bit her lip and pried off the top of the ring where a small dark green stone sat. "It's a good thing cause a piece of plastic wasn't going to do much to stop you."

"What?" Clark had recoiled at first when the ring was exposed but felt nothing emanating from the rock.

"Clark, I trusted you not to hurt me but I knew you didn't trust yourself so I rigged up this little prop to make you feel more secure. There was never a time when I thought I would actually need to protect myself so there was no need for Kryptonite." Her chest rose up and down as she tried to slow her heart. "I figured if you actually wanted to see it, it would be from across the room so you wouldn't notice the difference."

Clark stared at her incredulously. "I should be furious that you lied."

"But…" Lois smiled.

"But I love you too much for going to all this trouble for me."

"Well, I did get something out of it." She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"You're incredible." He ran a hand through her mused hair.

"I know." She winked.

**SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS**

A loud cheer went up in the stadium as the soccer ball changed possession on the field. The purple team began moving down the grass, heading for the net. A shot was taken but was wide; the goalie took the ball from the corner and kicked it back into play.

"You want to tell me how a youth soccer organization got use of the professional stadium here in Metropolis for a game?" Chloe climbed down to claim the seat Lois and Clark had reserved for her.

"Hey Chlo, glad you could make it." Clark smiled.

"Hey coz" Lois hugged her "and it's not just a game; it's the championship."

"I don't know how she did it but Lois pulled it off." Clark beamed at his girlfriend.

"I made a few phone calls; you'd be surprised how many people are willing to jump when I say I'm calling from the Senator's office." She smirked.

"Which one's Maddie?" Chloe looked out over the field as the young players ran from one end to the other.

"Number twelve." Clark pointed to the little girl standing in the middle of the field, waiting for the ball to be kicked to her by a teammate. "She's by far the best player on the team." He bragged.

"And I'm sure you're not biased." Chloe teased.

"Hey, I'm going to go buy a drink. You want anything?" He asked Lois, his lips pressed to her cheek.

"No, I'm good." She turned her head to kiss him, their tongues joining in the fun. They pulled away moments before their escapades became too steamy for public. Clark leaned in and whispered something in Lois' ear, causing her the laugh.

"Later." Was all Chloe could hear Lois say.

"You want anything Chlo?" Clark asked on his way out of the stands.

"No thanks." She breathed, feeling warm after simply watching the exchange between her cousin and friend.

"You guys look about two steps away from jumping each other right here." Chloe fanned herself in jest. "What happened?"

"Clark got over that pesky little fear of his." Lois' eyes twinkled in satisfaction.

"Which fear?" Chloe leaned forward, her eyebrows leaping to her hairline at the knowing look Lois fixed her with. "Oh that fear!...Really?" Her smile threatened to overtake her face. "So…."

"Coz, don't ask unless you really want to know." Lois warned with a sly upturn of her lips.

"Just answer me this – good or bad?"

Lois moved closer in order to whisper. "The only reason we're not hold up in bed this weekend is because of Maddie's game. But I'll give you three tries to guess where I'll be about an hour after the game and the first two don't count."

"That good!"

"Better." Lois' eyes glazed over causing a shiver to pass through Chloe's body.

"What's better?" And soft voice asked from beside Chloe.

"Lana hey, I didn't know you were coming?" Chloe shot a surprised glance at Lois, subtly telling her she hadn't invited her roommate.

"I know but when you mentioned you were coming here to meet Clark I thought I'd check it out." She avoided meeting Lois' stare. "So where is Clark?"

"Did you bring your boyfriend with you?" Lois asked with disinterest, her focus was on the field as Maddie had the ball at her feet and was about to pass it. "Yeah! Good work Maddie!" She cried a whistle escaping through her lips.

"Lex isn't my boyfriend." Lana stated vehemently. "We're seeing each other but it's not exclusive."

Chloe's eyes bounced back and forth between the two women as though she were watching a tennis match, although it was gearing up to look a lot more like a cage fight.

"Anything happen while I was gone?" Clark asked as he approached the seats

"Maddie made an awesome pass." Lois turned her eyes up at his voice.

"Clark, hi." Lana dropped her voice an octave, her eyes narrowing seductively.

"Hi Lana." He nodded to her, slipping past to reclaim his spot beside Lois. Since overhearing Lana's warning to steer clear of a relationship with him he had distanced himself from her. He hoped they could become friends in the future but the wound was still fresh so he stayed away. "I know you said you didn't want anything but you're going to end up taking mine so I got you one too." He handed her a drink.

"I thought you liked sharing with me Smallville." Lois grinned devilishly.

"I do. But I prefer to do our sharing in private." His eyes flash with dangerous intent.

"Smallville, where did this dirty mind come from?"

Lana stood at Chloe's side, mouth left hanging open. She was witnessing a side to Clark she had never seen before. Carefree and as close to deliriously happy as she thought a person could get. The only problem was that he was both those things with Lois; because of Lois. It seemed the book really had been closed on their relationship but perhaps there was still an epilogue to be written. She smiled at the thought and sat down to watch the rest of the game play out.

Maddie charged toward them after the medal ceremony, the gold shining brightly in the sunshine. Lois was the first to receive a hug, followed closely by Clark who scooped her up and swung her around.

"We won!" Maddie cried.

"Of course you did. You played great." Clark set her back down.

"I don't know how you made some of those passes kiddo, they were awesome." Lois encouraged.

"Some of the girls on my team are going to play indoors in the winter and Grandma said I could play too."

Chloe and Lana stood to the side watching their friends interact with the little girl. Despite having spent over an hour on the field she was still full of energy.

"Soccer's the best." She bared her teeth in a wide grin. "When I get older I'm going to teach your kids how to play." She told the couple.

"Our kids? You have something to tell me Lo?" Clark quirked an eyebrow.

"God no." Lois laughed, smoothing back Maddie's disheveled hair. "Years will pass before that happens Smallville; Maddie's just exercising her imagination." She made a grab to tickle the young girl.

And as she watched them, Lana realized despondently that no epilogue would be forthcoming. Clark was already writing his next works with Lois and it seemed that this one was fit for canon.

6/6 (The End)

Please R&R if you get the chance.


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